“…DO NOT FEAR, FOR I AM WITH YOU; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will STRENGTHEN YOU and HELP (‛âzar: protect and support) YOU; I will UPHOLD (tâmak: to take hold of) YOU with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish…I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, DO NOT FEAR; I WILL HELP YOU.” (Isaiah 41:10-13)
As Christians, we don’t need to fear because we know GOD IS IN CONTROL. God is on His throne, meaning no one else is on that throne. God alone has ALL POWER and ALL AUTHORITY, and nothing can threaten that. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
- SPIRIT OF POWER: The Greek word for power is, Dunamis it represents the kind of power that is a permanent and inseparable an example of that power happened when a crowd came to see Jesus, a woman with a debilitating illness was among those in the crowd. For 12 long years, she’d suffered from a disease that had caused constant bleeding. Although she’d spent her life savings seeking a cure, nothing had helped. When she heard that Jesus would be in her town, she had to find a way to see Him and to reach out to Him and just touch his clothing, “IMMEDIATELY the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that SHE WAS HEALED of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that POWER (dunamis) HAD GONE OUT OF HIM, He said, “Who touched My clothes?” (Mark 5:29-30) That’s the kind of power God give us!
- SPIRIT OF LOVE: The Greek word for this love is, Agape’, This is godly Christian love. It is COMMITTED SACRIFICIAL LOVE. It says, “I love you because I CHOOSE to love you.” It loves regardless of personal cost or reciprocation. This is the love that GOD HAS FOR US, that WE SHOULD HAVE FOR GOD, and that He teaches us to have for others. It is the STRONGEST of all loves. “Love (agapē) never fails.” (1Corin. 13:8)
- SPIRIT OF A SOUND MIND: The Greek word for this sound mind is, Sóphrón, one who is genuinely temperate, i.e. well-balanced from God’s perspective. “Not commanding ourselves, but rather being COMMANDED BY GOD” “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared TO ALL MEN, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, RIGHTEOUSLY (sóphrón), and godly in the present age…” (Titus 2:11-12)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham